Your financial data maybe at risk if you shopped at these e-retailers in 2016

At least 40 retailers that used Aptos' e-commerce services were compromised last year

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Updated: 3:25 PM CST Mar 8, 2017

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WEBVTT THESE CROOKS WERE ABLE TOGET THAT DATA.PKATRINA?>> PAUL, A MEMBER OF THE HRDEPARTMENT OPEN UP ANY MAILTHINKING IT WAS FROM THESUPERINTENDENT.BUT IT WASN'T.HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES AREAFFECTED, INCLUDING THOSE THATARE CUSTODIANS TEACHERS, ANDTHE SUPER HIMSELF.DR. JASON CYMER ROCK SAYS IT WASNOT DONE MALICIOUSLY.THAT EMPLOYEE RESPONDED TO AREQUEST TO SEND HIM THE W-2INFORMATION FOR ALL YUKON PUBLICSCHOOL EMPLOYEES WHICH INCLUDESNAMES, ADDRESSES, SOCIAL, ANDWAGES.THEY FOUND IT WAS A PHISHINGSCAM.THE DISTRICT WENT INTO RESPONSEMODE, NOTIFYING ALL EMPLOYEES.>> THEY WERE ALL QUITE CERTAINTHAT WHAT THEY DO IS THEY DOTHIS EVERYWHERE AND THEY T TOFALSIFY TAX REPORTS.

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Your financial data maybe at risk if you shopped at these e-retailers in 2016

At least 40 retailers that used Aptos' e-commerce services were compromised last year

E-commerce firm Aptos, Inc. experienced a data breach last year, and 40 of the company's clients were infiltrated by malware. This means that personal information and financial data of anyone who purchased items from those online retailers could be at risk.

The breach occurred from February through December 2016, but Aptos didn't notify its clients for 60 days via FBI protocol. After the two-month period passed, the company alerted businesses of the hack.

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"We are working closely with the specific digital commerce customers who were impacted by this incident to ensure affected consumers are notified in a transparent, accurate and timely manner in accordance with US-based state disclosure laws for data security incidents," an Aptos spokesperson told the Register earlier this week.

Last year, 34 percent of US-based companies experienced some type of online security breach, according to a report from Bitdefender. Even more alarming - two-thirds of companies surveyed said they would pay an average of $124,000 to keep the hack private, leaving unsuspecting customers in the dark.

Unfortunately, many companies don't announce data breaches because they fear it may harm their reputations.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans shop online, according to a December report from Pew Research. That's roughly 251 million people, a huge jump from just 16 years ago, when only 22 percent of Americans shopped on the web. Online retail is a massive market, but it doesn't come without risks.

Aptos hasn't released of full list of impacted clients, but here are some of the known companies that were affected:

If you shopped at any of these online stores last year, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. First, contact one of the three credit reporting bureaus and have them place an alert on your account, which will stay in place for 90 days. TransUnion, Equifax and Experian all report to one another, so there's no need to contact all of them. Remember to monitor all of your accounts for suspicious activity.